A beautiful Autumn day greeted ninety-nine players for the playing of the 68th President’s Cup which was first played for in 1942.The current President, Bryan Gardiner, sponsored the day and there were nine former winners in the field trying to win the cup for the second time – David Falconer (1996) Craig Nelson (2004), Bruce Allbrook (2007), Stuart Munro (2013), Joe Alexander (2016) Wayne Ovens (2017), Colin Yoong (2018), Edmund Hall (2019) and the defending champion, past president Ian McDonald.

There were some good scores and amongst those were-;

  • Peter Dillon started in a blaze of glory, birdieing his first hole (the 6th) for 4 points, and after playing 9 Holes he had amassed 21 points and was heard to say at that point – “Mr President, Mr Captain etc etc….” He continued to play well but a “wipe “on his 14th hole (the 1st) stopped his momentum. With true fighting qualities he finished with 2 pluses over the concluding holes to finish with 38 points and the Runner-Up prize.

  • David Southam, playing from a 5 Handicap, started well with a Birdie on his first hole (the 7th), but could not continue his momentum over the next 12 holes. And then a string of Birdies from the 2nd to the 4th and a 3 pointer on the 5th hole saw him in with a chance. An unfortunate Bogey on his final hole saw him finish with 38 points and third position, and the “A” Grade winner.

  • Rod Edenburg and Paul “Chook” Henderson both amassed 36 points which was good enough to claim the “B” Grade and “C” Grade Divisional prizes respectively.

  • Pennant Players Tristan Geerlings and Harry Traylen warmed op for their final Pennant match on Sunday fighting out for the Best Gross. Ultimately it was Tristan who won the day by one point with a Gross Score of 36 points.

And now for the winner – immediate past Captain and popular member Joe Alexander.

Joe was looking to make it two President’s Cups in six years and that he did in spades.

Fresh back from a knee injury, Joe had a day to remember with a score of 44 points winning by six points from Peter Dillon and Dave Southam – as they say “Daylight was second” and that certainly was the case on this occasion.

The first nine holes set up victory and the 23 points followed by 21 was an outstanding performance.  Editor’s Comment It has been said over the last few days that his Senior Pennant Captain congratulated him with “tongue in cheek”.

Appreciation is extended to President Bryan Gardiner for his sponsorship, the course staff who as usual did an excellent job in their preparation of the course, the House Staff for looking after the players before and after the game and thanks to Andy and his staff for their assistance.

Finally, we salute our 2021 President’s Cup winner and two-time Champion Joe Alexander.

From Greg Fitzhardinge